Think art is easy? This AP exam plenty tough
Part of the AP art exam is assembling a portfolio of artwork, like these pieces created by Emily Brown of Bonneville High School.
“Which AP tests are you taking?”
When I responded to that frequent inquiry during the last month, my heart rate increased like every other high school student’s. For the most part, all Advanced Placement exams are held in the same awe-struck anticipation.
But the AP art test, which I took, is not revered in the same way. Frequently, people would brush off my test by saying, “Oh, art’s way easier than calculus,” or, “But you’re good at art.” Many didn’t know anything about the structure or timeline of the art-based exams.
Since I took two of these art tests this year, I consider myself somewhat of an expert, so here’s a quick rundown of these AP exams.
Disclaimer: There are three different AP art tests: Drawing, 2-D and Sculpture. I did the first two; I have no expertise in the latter. Drawing examines your ability to create art with interesting lines, whereas 2-D inspects ability to use space in interesting ways.
The AP art exams are contradictory in that they are like the stereotypical AP exam as well as vastly different. For example, you still have to wait until July to get your score, which ranges from 1-5. The test costs the same as any other exam, and it is just as, if not more, stressful.
But the art tests have a different format. You are not sequestered in a room while a mechanical voice announces, “You now have one hour to re-create the Mona Lisa.”
The AP art exam is a portfolio consisting of 24 pieces; 12 are a concentration on a central idea; the other 12 have a variety of focuses, showcasing your other artistic abilities. Considering the sheer amount of art required, the AP test can start as early as the first day of class. Yet some students (crazily) wait until a month before the due date to begin.
This text structure can be a blessing and a curse. On one hand, you can take time refining your skills, creating art that you care about. On the other hand, the long timeline can lead to procrastination as well as artistic burnout.
The art exams are stressful. When it’s the last week of April and you still have three art projects to make, you essentially ascend this plane of existence. With pretty much all AP tests, you have one very narrow, specific problem to solve. But with AP art, you create the problem yourself and have to figure a way out pretty much on your own.
On other AP tests, you can brush off a lower-than-expected score by assuring yourself that the text featured a weird prompt or out-there problem. Art is far more personal. Critiques can feel like a personal attack. Many artists who take the exam and fail find themselves wondering if it was their concentration idea or their personal prowess as an artist that lowered their score.
The open-endedness of the portfolio allows for tons of artistic license. Concentrations I’ve seen range from birds, to foxes, to ancient mythology, all the way to portraits and even one that focused on Kanye West’s album, “808s and Heartbreak.” It is an interesting dynamic to interact with other artists who are in the portfolio mode. Even when students have reached the threshold for caring about their own art, they are still heavily invested in their fellow artists doing their best.
The closest the AP art test gets to the typical testing atmosphere is the uploading process. This is about a week where pretty much everyone in the art class hits crisis mode. Because this crunch time spans days rather than hours, like other AP tests, it is exhausting and almost soul-crushing.
All 24 pieces must be photographed, and all those photos have to edited and re-sized and uploaded on the AP website. It doesn’t sound like much, but it gets extremely tedious, especially if you’re doing multiple portfolios.
From there, you have to arrange what could be a whole year’s worth of work to best showcase your artistic growth. It is terrifying seeing what could be the best expression of your soul reduced to a tiny, pixelated grid.
Once everything’s uploaded, you have to write commentary explaining your concentration and your journey of exploration. It is very boring, and it feels uncomfortable to flaunt your own art.
Next, you must pick your five best pieces to be mailed and judged in person. It’s like trying to pick favorite children. It’s really difficult to separate the emotional ties to pieces from their power as art. It was really tempting to choose pieces that I liked working on rather than ones that were successful. Sealing the envelope that contained the best art I’ve ever done was by far the scariest and most relieving experience.
Yet overall, I loved the AP art process. I loved the chaos, the atmosphere of creativity. I would highly recommend it, but with some provisos.
Don’t do it if you don’t love art. It’s a demanding, draining gamble. Also, choose your concentration carefully; you’d be surprised at how quickly you can tire of a single idea. Also, for your own sake, start early.
If the thought of being judged as an artist based on the exploration of one idea doesn’t scare you, do it. The AP art process is the best way I can think of to become a better artist.
Emily Brown is a senior at Bonneville High School. Her hobbies include procrastinating her actual interests with literally anything else. Contact her at emilyabrown17@gmail.com.